Back to Dino
by jasonstoneface
Summary: REVISED! When Scorpina returns and destroys the zords, the Rangers must seek new powers. Or are they old ones? Rated T for violence later on. Part of my MMPR Season 4.
1. Return of Scorpina

Disclaimer: Everybody knows that I don't own the Power Rangers. I do own the Sword of Kismet. Kismet is another word for doom. I also own the character of the Morphin Mage. Lame name, I know, but what can I say?

Author's Note: Here is my revision of one of my best, most well-received stories. It's best if you read the first seven chapters of my Season 4 first, especially the last one.

**BACK TO DINO**

**Chapter 1: Return of Scorpina**

It was the day after the mid-summer dance was held at the Youth Center. Kimberly had left to return to Florida that morning. Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa hadn't sent any monsters lately, but the Power Rangers knew that they would at any moment. Until then, they were enjoying themselves at the Youth Center. Adam and Rocky were sparring while Tommy was teaching his karate class, which included Jenny. Kat was teaching her ballet class while Aisha watched Adam and Rocky. Billy and Trini, who had surprised everyone by returning the Angel Grove the previous Saturday, were chatting.

"So, why did you decide to come home?" asked the Blue Ranger.

"Well, we didn't realize it when we first selected, but our stay in Switzerland was only supposed to last as long as it did," explained the former Yellow Ranger. "Once our initial term as ambassadors was up, were offered the option to go home or stay. The three of us enjoyed our time at the peace conference, we really did. We feel like we did a lot of good. But we were homesick, so we decided to leave."

"Then why didn't Jason and Zack come home?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The three of us were able to get part-time jobs while we were there. I was actually relieved that we were allowed to work while we were there. Sometimes, sitting at the conference table talking can get really boring. Anyway, we saved our money, and Jason and Zack decided they would travel Europe and do some sight-seeing for the rest of the summer. They've already talked to their parents about it and gotten the okay, so they plan to travel and come home in time for school."

"Have you told the others yet?" asked Billy.

"No," answered Trini. "I wanted to get reacquainted with my surroundings first." She then grinned and slowly took Billy's hand before adding, "And I wanted to get reacquainted with you. I've missed you."

Billy blushed at the feeling of Trini grabbing his hand. Finally, he responded, "As I have you."

At that moment, Kat and Tommy finished up their respective classes while the others dropped what they were doing. They all ordered drinks before joining Billy and Trini.

Meanwhile, at the Lunar Palace, Lord Zedd was sitting on his throne, tapping his talons on the armrest. Rita Repulsa screeched, "Zeddy, we need a plan to destroy the Power Rangers! Why are you just sitting there?"

"Will you shut up, Rita?" screamed Zedd in anger as he glowed red. "Can't you see I'm trying to think?"

All of a sudden, someone they didn't expect teleported into the throne room. Goldar and Rito Revolto had been in the room with their masters when it happened. Goldar's jaw dropped as he realized who it was. "Scorpina?"

"Scorpina, what are you doing here?" demanded Zedd. "You left my service after you failed to destroy the Rangers."

"Quite right, Lord Zedd," said Scorpina. "But I wish to aid you in your conquest of Earth once more. And to help you do that, I have returned bearing three gifts."

"Oh?" asked Zedd. "And what might these gifts be? And this had better be good!"

"Oh, trust me, it is," said the scorpion-woman with a smile. "Your first gift is this." She pulled out a sword. Zedd, Rita, and Goldar already knew that it wasn't her own sword. Rito had never worked with Scorpina before, so he just looked confused.

"That looks like just a sword to me," said Rito. Scorpina smiled again.

"A sword, yes. But, 'just a sword,' no. This is the Sword of Kismet."

"The Sword of Kismet?" asked Zedd in surprise. "How did you get that? I've spent the last 3000 years searching for that sword!"

"I came across it quite by accident, my lord," explained Scorpina as she told her story.

_Flashback:_

"_After I left, I did some mercenary work. I had been hired by the space pirate Divatox in her plundering of the planet Triforia. She had spent centuries searching for the sword like you had. Divatox believed that if she could retrieve the Sword of Kismet, then it would enable her to destroy Trey, the Prince of Triforia, also known as the Gold Ranger. Of course, she hadn't told me or her minions about this. _

_Over the course of several months, we were able to wipe out the entire planet's population. Soon, all that was left was Trey, his soldiers, and a few villages. One day, we stormed the Royal Palace of Triforia. While Divatox's forces and I did battle with Trey's soldiers, she was able to sneak off. I noticed this and wondered why she wasn't fighting. After killing a Triforian soldier, I followed her. Soon enough, she entered a hidden room in the palace, using a map she had stolen._

_I wasn't sure what she was looking for until I heard her say, 'Yes. The Sword of Kismet. After more than 700 years of searching, you are finally mine!'_

_Divatox reached for the Sword of Kismet, but I threw my own sword at her first. It went right into her back. When she collapsed, she turned to me. Her last words were, "Scorpina? You. . . traitor!"_

_With that, she died. I smiled and took the Sword of Kismet for myself._

_End Flashback_

"With that, I was able to easily dispose of Trey and his few remaining soldiers. I stabbed the Gold Ranger right through the stomach and dropped him into his own dungeon," finished Scorpina with a sinister smile.

With the story apparently finished, Zedd said, "Impressive story, Scorpina. But now that you have the sword, how do I know you won't betray me?"

"I couldn't harm you with this sword even if I wanted to," said Scorpina. "Let alone destroy you. According to legend, the Sword of Kismet can only be used against good. I can never harm an evil-doer. And I know first-hand that it is true."

"Really?" asked Zedd skeptically. "Prove it."

"Very well," said Scorpina. "Bring in one of your Putties."

"We no longer use Putties," said Rita. "Rito brought us some Tenga Warriors."

"Tengas?" asked Scorpina with slight surprise. "Very well, bring in one of the Tengas."

The Tengas were nearby. One of them said, "I'm not gonna let her just stab me, I don't care what the so-called legend says."

Suddenly, Scorpina threw the Sword of Kismet at the Tengas. It struck one, surprising them. But, just like Scorpina had said, it bounced right off. Once their shock wore off, the Tengas started cawing.

Zedd nodded at this. "Now that I know you can't usurp me with the sword, what are your other gifts."

"Ah, yes," said Scorpina. "I present your second gift: The new, improved Putty Patrol!"

Scorpina pointed her sword to a vacant spot in the throne room. There appeared Putties that looked like the ones Zedd once used, minus the "Z" spot. "Those look just like Zedd's old putties," said Rita. "Except there's no 'Z.'"

"How observant you are, my queen," said Scorpina. "During my spare time, I've been studying how to create stronger minions. As a result, these new Putties are faster, stronger, and much more difficult to defeat than any of your minions in the past."

Rito seemed offended by that. "Hey! Are you saying that they're stronger than the Tengas I gave Rita and Ed here?"

"That's Zedd, bone-brain!" yelled Zedd.

Scorpina chuckled to herself as she heard the evil lord correct Rita's idiotic brother. Finally, she said, "Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying."

"Oh yeah?" asked Rito skeptically. "Prove it!"

"I will," said Scorpina with a smile. Turning to Zedd, she asked, "May I?"

"Yes," answered her emperor. "I wish to see these things in action before I send them against the Rangers. Putties, Tengas, prepare for battle!"

Watching from the balcony of the palace, all the assembled villains watched as the Putties and Tengas gathered outside. "Now, fight!" ordered Zedd.

The Tengas cawed and charged the new Putties. Suddenly, some of the the Putties jumped into the air and drop-kicked some of the Tengas. Several more began brawling. The new Putties seemed to be able to fight as well as Tommy. After less than ten minutes, the Tengas were down, unable to stand from the beating they had taken. Victorious, the Putties turned to the balcony and bowed.

Nodding, Zedd said, "I am pleased with what I've seen, Scorpina."

"I knew you would be, my emperor," said Scorpina.

"So what's your third gift?" asked Rita.

"That will come in due time. But right now, may I request sending the new Putties to Earth? I would like to show the Rangers just what they are up against now."

"Very well, Scorpina," said Lord Zedd. "It's been a long time, but. . . send down the Putties!" With that, the new Putties teleported to Earth, Zedd, Rita, and their minions laughing.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Rangers vs the New Putties

**Chapter 2: Rangers vs. the New Putties**

The seven Power Rangers and Trini were enjoying a picnic in Angel Grove Park when the new Putties appeared. They quickly stood up and got into fighting stances. "Putties?" Adam asked confused.

"I don't care what they are," said Jenny. "They are not ruining our day."

"Let's get em!" commanded Tommy. With that, the eight friends began to battle the Putties.

They soon learned that this was not going to be as easy as they thought.

Rocky punched down one Putty and kicked another in the chin. But one kicked him from behind, causing him to stumble. Another one kicked him in the chest, taking him down.

Billy punched one in the face and quickly elbowed one that was coming up behind him in the face. Billy took another one down with a roundhouse kick, but then another one swept him off his feet.

Trini gracefully roundhouse-kicked two Putties to the ground. She ducked one that tried to punch her, and punched it in the face. But another one kicked her from behind, knocking her down.

Aisha slammed two Putties face-first into each other, yelling, "Kiss and make up!" She then tossed both of them to the ground by their arms. Another Putty tried to charge her, but she leap-frogged it, causing it to slam into a tree behind her. But then two more kicked her in the chest, sending her flying.

Adam kicked two Putties across the face at the same time. He then spun around and landed a punch into another's stomach, then to the face. One tried to sneak up from behind, but met Adam's elbow instead. But then another one punched him in the jaw.

Jenny did a leaping kick, connecting with the chest of two Putties. Another one was charging her. As she prepared to engage, she was knocked down from behind.

Kat punched one in the face, then kicked one that was coming up behind her. Another Putty, however, kicked her in the chest, taking her down.

Tommy did a tornado-kick, knocking down two. One tried to come up from behind, but Tommy hit it with his elbow, then the back of his fist. He roundhouse-kicked another, but was then kicked in the chest by another Putty.

The eight friends were gathered in a group as the new Putties surrounded them from all sides. "They're too strong," said Aisha.

"We'll need to ninja-morph," said Rocky.

Trini glanced around. "You're clear!"

Tommy nodded and called, "Ninja Ranger Power now!"

Once the Rangers ninja-morphed, Billy said, "Trini, you'd better try to get away. We'll handle these things." Trini nodded. Since the fight had already gone poorly, she knew that it was best to leave this to her friends.

Trini ran and quickly leaped over a small group of Putties. She ran behind a tree about ten feet away and watched as the Ninja Rangers took on these new, stronger Putties, and hoped the Putties wouldn't come after her. After another grueling fifteen minutes, the Putties were finally beaten to the point where they disintegrated. They demorphed and Trini approached them. Even with their Ninja Powers, the fight had taken a lot out of the Rangers. It was plain to see that they were fatigued.

"Are you guys alright?" the former Yellow Ranger asked.

"I'm not," said Jenny. "I feel like I just made friends with a Mack truck."

"I agree," said Adam. "We've never had that much trouble with Putties before."

"Let's get to the Command Center," said Kat. "Maybe Zordon knows something."

"Right," agreed Tommy. "Trini, you'd better get to the Youth Center. You'll probably be safest there. Try not to let on that anything out of the ordinary has happened."

Trini nodded. After making sure they were clear, the seven Rangers touched their communicators and teleported away in their respective Ranger colors.

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. The Destruction of the Zords

**Chapter 3: The Destruction of the Zords**

The seven Rangers materialized in the Command Center. Tommy immediately said, "Zordon, we've never had that much trouble with Putties before."

"Yeah," agreed Kat. "They're stronger than the Tengas and this is the first time I've ever fought them."

"Same here," said Jenny.

Zordon said, "I AM AWARE OF YOUR PLIGHT, RANGERS. I HAD ALPHA RUN SOME SCANS OF RITA AND ZEDD'S PALACE AND WE HAVE LEARNED THAT SCORPINA HAS RETURNED."

"Scorpina?" asked Adam. "You mean the same Scorpina who tried to get close to me by disguising herself as Sabrina?" Zordon nodded.

Suddenly, the alarms began blaring like crazy. The Rangers turned instinctively to the Viewing Globe.

"What's going on?" asked Aisha. The Globe gave her the answer.

Scorpina was shown on the Globe terrorizing Angel Grove in her gigantic scorpion form along with a giant Goldar and Rito. Alpha noticed the weapon in Scorpina's right hand. "Ay, yi, yi, yi, yi! Look, Zordon!"

"RANGERS, THE WEAPON YOU SEE IN SCORPINA'S POSSESSION IS THE SWORD OF KISMET," explained Zordon. "IT CAN ABSORB ANY ENERGY THROWN AT IT. THAT ENERGY CAN THEN BE REDIRECTED AGAINST ITS ADVERSARIES. YOU MUST FIND A WAY TO EITHER RETRIEVE THE SWORD OR DESTROY IT."

"Aw, man," said Rocky. "As if the Putty fight wasn't hard enough, now we have to go up against a weapon that could destroy us all!"

Tommy pushed his own worries aside for the moment and said, "Come on, guys. We got a job to do. You heard what Zordon said. It's Morphin Time!

"WHITE RANGER POWER!"

"GREEN RANGER POWER!"

"BLACK RANGER POWER!"

"PINK RANGER POWER!"

"BLUE RANGER POWER!"

"YELLOW RANGER POWER!"

"RED RANGER POWER!"

The Rangers arrived in the city, landing on top of a tall building near the scene of battle. They stood in a straight line and called out in unison, "We need Ninja and Shogunzord Power now!"

All of the zords emerged from their hiding places. The Ninja Megafalconzord and the Shogun Megazord were immediately formed. Tommy, Kat, and Billy operated the Shogun Megazord, while, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha piloted the Ninja Megafalconzord. Jenny's Jaguar Ninjazord remained on the ground with her inside it.

"Shogun Megazord, power up!

"Ninja Megafalconzord, power up!"

"Green Jaguar Ninjazord, power up!"

"Ah, Rangers," hissed Scorpina. "I was wondering when you'd show up!" With that, she lashed her tail at both Megazords, causing them to stumble.

From her cockpit, Jenny said, "Hey! Leave my brother and friends alone, you freak!" In retaliation, the Jaguar let loose its supersonic roar. However, the energy was absorbed by the Sword of Kismet, just like Zordon said it would.

"Uh, uh, uh, little Green Ranger," said Scorpina, wagging her left claw-hand in disapproval. "Energy is an absolute no-no!" She then pointed the sword at the Jaguar, and fired the energy back into it. Jenny screamed as she struggled to maintain control.

"Jenny!" cried Tommy. "That does it, Scorpina! If you hurt my sister, you will face my wrath!" As if to prove his point, the Shogun Megazord landed a left hand, then a right. A left and a right followed from the Ninja Megafalconzord, knocking her down.

Goldar stepped in front of the fallen female warrior and said, "Nobody messes with my lover and lives!" He fired flaming red energy from his sword, knocking down both Megazords. He then paused, thinking about what he just said. 'Do I really love Scorpina?'

As the Megazords got up, Rito whined, "Hey, let me in on some of this!" He then held up his sword, charged it with red lightening, and pointed it at the recovering Megazords, striking them with red energy.

As the Jaguar recovered, Jenny said, "Tommy, I think we could use some extra muscle."

"Right," agreed her older sibling. "Go for it!"

With that, Jenny pulled out the Dragon Dagger and played a tune, summoning the Dragonzord. It roared and swung its tail at Rito, knocking him down. Goldar then hit the Dragonzord with gold energy bolts from his fingers, causing it to stumble and roar. The allowed the Jaguar to pounce the armored simian from behind. Goldar managed to throw it off, only to be struck down with shots to the back. Rito stood up and noticed the source of the blasts: Titanus. As it made its way towards the three villains, Rito sent red electricity from his eyes. But Titanus weathered the blasts and responded by firing all his cannons as well as the fireballs from his mouth. However, as the blasts were mere inches from Rito, Scorpina stuck the Sword of Kismet in front of Rita's brother, absorbing them.

"Thanks," said Scorpina as she redirected the energy back at Titanus, causing him to roar in pain.

Once Titanus recovered, all of the zords stood side-by-side. They were weakened, but were determined to make their stand. With the situation already having deteriorated faster than he'd anticipated, Zordon sent out a warning. "RANGERS, IF YOU TAKE TOO MUCH MORE DAMAGE, YOUR ZORDS COULD BE DESTROYED AND YOU COULD POSSIBLY BE STRIPPED OF YOUR MORPHING POWERS AGAIN."

"That's a chance we'll have to take," said Tommy.

"You said the same thing when the Thunderzords were destroyed," said Aisha, more to herself than anyone else.

Goldar and Rito stood on each side of Scorpina. "Give up, Rangers?" asked Goldar tauntingly.

"Never," snarled Kat.

"But how are we supposed to beat them?" asked Rocky.

"As long as they have that sword, we don't stand a chance," agreed Adam.

Billy thought about that. Then, an idea came to him. "Guys, I have an idea. It's risky, but it may be our only chance."

"What is it, Billy?" asked the White Ranger.

"Well, Zordon said that the Sword of Kismet could absorb energy, but he didn't say how much energy it could absorb."

"Yeah. So?" asked the Red Ranger.

The Blue Ranger continued. "So, if we channel all of our energy into the sword, maybe it will overload."

"What have we got to lose?" asked Kat.

"All right, guys, let's give it a try," conceded Tommy. "Form the Ninja Ultrazord!"

"Ninja Ultrazord, initiate transformation sequence now!"

The Jaguar transformed to cannon mode and attached to the shoulder of the Ninja Megafalconzord. It then made its way onto the back of Titanus to form the Ninja Ultrazord.

"Ninja Ultrazord, power up!"

The Ninja Ultrazord then fired all of its weapons, including the Jaguar-cannon.

At the same time, the Shogun Megazord activated its Fire Saber and swiped at the three villains.

Finally, Jenny called, "Dragonzord Missiles!" She played the tune on the Dragon Dagger flute that activated the missiles. They immediately fired.

As expected, the Sword of Kismet began to absorb the Rangers' relentless attack. The sword then began to glow. Scorpina said, "If this sword is destroyed, it's taking your zords with it! Goldar! Rito! Help me!"

In one final, desperate push, the Sword of Kismet redirected all of the energy back to the zords. Once it did so, the sword disintegrated. At the same time, Goldar fired flaming energy from his sword, fireballs from his eyes, and gold energy from his fingers while Rito sent red electricity from his eyes as well as a red energy bolt from both his sword and free hand. The overwhelming surge of power struck all of the zords, ejecting the Rangers from their cockpits.

The Rangers looked at themselves in horror as they realized they had demorphed. They looked up and could only watch helplessly as the Ninja Ultrazord, the Shogun Megazord, and the Dragonzord all slowly fell apart and exploded.

It was several times larger than any explosion the Rangers had ever seen.

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Golden Transfer

**Chapter 4: Golden Transfer**

The Rangers watched helplessly as their zords fell apart and exploded. The three gigantic villains watched with glee. When it was over, they looked down upon the powerless Rangers and laughed. Scorpina said, "You may have destroyed the Sword of Kismet, but now that your powers have been destroyed as well, taking care of you will be a piece of cake."

Meanwhile, up in space, a large structure was making its way towards Earth, unnoticed by any earthly or alien sensors. A computer console inside the structure said, "Approaching Earth. Estimated arrival: t-minus fifteen seconds."

A figure approached the console and looked out of the cockpit. He saw his destination and said weakly, "I hope I'm not too late."

Goldar laughed and reached down to pick up the seven fallen heroes. However, he was stopped when a blue energy beam struck the ground between him and the Rangers. "What?" he asked.

Both the good guys and the bad guys looked up to see the structure heading towards them. It was a large pyramid-shaped spacecraft. It fired more energy beams from the tip at the top.

"Trey," snarled Scorpina. "The Gold Ranger. I'll deal with you later. Goldar, Rito, retreat!" With that, the three villains left.

The seven teens (counting Jenny, despite being twelve) watched the pyramid-shaped structure fly over the city. It landed and hid in the mountains on the outskirts of Angel Grove. It was cloaked, allowing it to blend in. Seconds later, a streak of gold-colored light teleported and landed near the Rangers. There stood before them a figure in what appeared to be a Power Ranger suit. It was black with gold chest armor, gold armbands, and gold kneepads. His white boots and gloves had gold cuffs. His helmet had three horizontal bars connected in the middle by a vertical bar. His belt bore the same symbol. He carried a small black staff with the same three-barred symbol in gold and a red orb on top. The bottom of the staff had a small blade. The stranger took a few steps towards the Rangers, but then moaned and grabbed his mid-section with his free hand, keeling over in pain. The seven heroes, not knowing what else to do, ran over to their mysterious savior to tend to him. Tommy asked, "Hey, man, are you okay?"

The Ranger said weakly, "No, I am not okay. I'm. . . dying."

Rocky held up his communicator. "Alpha? Alpha, do you read me?" He looked at his friends and said, "Nothing."

"The power must have gone out," Billy guessed. "The same thing happened when the Thunderzords were destroyed." Rocky smacked himself on the forehead as he remembered.

"Then how do we get to the Command Center?" asked Jenny. "We can't teleport, and if we try to go on foot, this guy will never make it."

"Leave that. . . to me," said the Gold Ranger weakly. Managing whatever strength he could muster, he held up his staff. The top of the staff opened up, and gold energy came from the red orb on top. It enveloped the Rangers and they teleported away.

Meanwhile, Goldar, Scorpina, and Rito arrived back at the Lunar Palace. Lord Zedd was furious to say the least! "Scorpina, what happened out there? And who was that?"

"Someone that is supposed to be dead," answered Scorpina angrily. "The Gold Ranger. Trey of Triforia! I saw him fall into his own dungeon! The Sword of Kismet went through his suit, as the Earthlings say, like a hot knife through butter! His blood covered half of the blade!"

"His powers must somehow be keeping him alive," said Zedd. "But no matter. With the other Rangers powerless, we should have no problem dealing with him." Zedd glowed red with anger.

When the Rangers got to the Command Center, they noticed that everything, but the emergency power was down. The computers were still intact, but offline. The only thing that was operational was Alpha and Zordon's plasma tube. Fortunately, no harm had befallen their mentor or their robotic colleague.

"RANGERS, THANK GOODNESS YOU ARE SAFE," said Zordon. "BUT WHO IS THAT?"

"We're not sure," answered Tommy honestly as he and Rocky supported the Gold Ranger. "But he's dying. Get the medical table ready, Alpha."

Alpha and Billy prepared the medical table. Tommy and Rocky gently placed the Gold Ranger onto it. When it was done, Zordon asked, "WHO ARE YOU?" This surprised the Rangers. It seemed that Zordon had never met this mysterious Ranger either.

The stranger said, "Zordon. . . it is an honor. . . to finally meet you. I am Trey. . . current prince. . . of Triforia."

"TRIFORIA. RANGERS, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR. TRIFORIANS ARE TRUSTED ALLIES OF MINE."

Rocky said, "No offense, Zordon, but could you please tell us what's going on here?"

"VERY WELL," answered Zordon. "THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, I AIDED THE PEOPLE OF TRIFORIA AGAINST A RAID BY RITA. SHE HAD MANAGED TO GET A HOLD OF THE SWORD OF KISMET, BUT WE MANAGED TO TAKE IT FROM HER. IT HAD STAYED ON TRIFORIA SINCE THEN. EVERY GENERATION WAS CHARGED WITH GUARDING THE SWORD WITH THEIR LIFE. THIS WAS TO HOPEFULLY ENSURE THAT IT WOULD NEVER FALL INTO EVIL HANDS AGAIN. AFTER RITA WAS DEFEATED AND DRIVEN OFF, THEY CUT OFF ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH OTHER WORLDS AND OTHER BEINGS, AS THEY WERE A PEACE-LOVING PEOPLE. BUT I NEVER KNEW OF A GOLD RANGER."

"But, Zordon," said Kat, "is there any way we can get our powers back? Our zords were destroyed and we can't morph."

Trey overheard this and said, "I think I know. You must seek. . . the Morphin Mage."

This surprised Zordon. "THE MORPHIN MAGE. I ALWAYS BELIEVED HIM TO BE ONLY A LEGEND."

Trey said, "I assure you. . . he is as real. . . as the ground. . . on which we stand. He is the source. . . of my powers. Many years ago. . . after Rita's defeat. . . one of my ancestors. . . sought him out. Knowing that Triforia. . . may need protection. . . he journeyed to. . . the planet Zircon. He found. . . the Morphin Mage. . . and acquired the powers. . . of the Gold Ranger. Upon his return. . . all methods. . . of interplanetary travel. . . were destroyed. The only exception. . . was Pyramidas. . . my zord. A map was also kept. . . in case anyone else. . . would need to seek. . . the Mage. When Scorpina obtained. . . the Sword of Kismet. . . she fatally wounded me. I fell into. . . my own dungeon. . . in my palace. . . hoping it. . . would drive her away. With my people destroyed. . . thanks to Divatox. . . I came to Earth. . . to warn you. But I was too late."

"How are we supposed to seek this Morphin Mage?" asked Aisha. "The power is down and we can't teleport."

"Alpha, how bad is the damage?" asked Billy walking away from the medical table.

"Ay, yi, yi," said the sentient robot. "The good news is, all we have to do is recharge the main power supply. The bad news is, it could take hours."

"We don't have hours," said Adam.

"I'll. . . fix that," said Trey. He managed to hold up his staff and shot a bolt into the computers, bringing the entire Command Center back online. The Rangers gasped in amazement. Trey then said, "The coordinates. . . for the planet Zircon. . . are in the computer. But before you go. . . I must transfer. . . my powers. . . to someone else. Or my powers. . . will be gone forever. They are. . . keeping me alive. . . but I won't last. . . much longer. The next Gold Ranger. . . must be pure. . . of heart and spirit. He or she. . . must be compassionate. . . caring. . . and loyal."

Billy listened to Trey's words. And then it dawned on him. "I know! Trini! She'd be perfect for the powers!"

Trey smiled under his helmet. "I trust this. . . Trini. . . is as pure. . . as you seem to believe, Blue Ranger. Hurry and seek her. . . I do not have much time."

Billy nodded and looked back at Alpha, asking, "Is Trini at the Youth Center, Alpha?"

Alpha quickly tracked her down. "Affirmative, Billy. Ready when you are."

Billy nodded again. Moments later, he teleported away in a streak of blue light.

At the Youth Center, Trini was watching the news while she sat at the Juice Bar, surrounded by other teenagers. A field reporter was reporting live from the scene where the zords laid in ruins. The female reporter said, "As you can see behind me, the Power Rangers did indeed lose a battle that took place here a short time ago. It is anybody's guess as to when Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa will strike next and whether or not the Power Rangers will be able to strike back. Some may be wondering if they're even still alive. We will keep you up-to-date with any further reports we receive."

"This doesn't look good, people," said Ernie.

"Come on, Ernie," said Bulk. "The Power Rangers have faced bad situations before."

"Yeah," agreed Skull. "But they've always found a way to pull through."

"I don't know what's worse," said Ernie. "This or when Master Vile made us have that 'End of the World' party."

Trini remained silent. She thought to herself, 'Oh, Billy, I hope you're alright.'

Billy walked in and quickly approached the Juice Bar. "Hey, Ernie, what's going on?"

"There was a big explosion not too long ago," answered the Juice Bar's portly owner. "Apparently, the Power Rangers' zords were destroyed."

"Hey, Trini, would you like a ride home?" asked the Blue Ranger.

Catching the hint, Trini said, "Sure. Hopefully, we can get back before things get worse."

They made their way to a secluded area. Trini then threw her arms around him and said, "Thank goodness you're alright."

Billy smiled and said, "Thanks." Reluctantly, he pulled the hug apart and said, "Listen, Trini, I don't have much time, so I'm going to be very blunt. Would you be willing to be a Ranger again?"

This surprised Trini. "Me? A Ranger again? What happened? Did one of the others get hurt?"

"No," answered Billy. "But this guy we've never seen before who drove off Rito, Goldar, and Scorpina did. In fact, he's dying. He needs to transfer his powers to someone else. Our zords and powers were destroyed in the last battle and we have to go to another planet to get new ones. You'll need to try and protect the Earth until we return."

Trini nodded in understanding. "I'll do it. Let's go. If your friend is dying, we need to transfer the powers as soon as possible."

Billy nodded. He touched his communicator and they teleported out, Billy in blue, Trini in white.

As soon as they arrived in the Command Center, Zordon said, "GOOD WORK, BILLY. HURRY, THE POWER TRANSFER MUST TAKE PLACE IMMEDIATELY."

"Help me," said Trey. Tommy and Rocky obliged and helped him off the medical table. They supported him as they helped him to the center of the Command Center. Trey said, "Trini of Earth. . . do you accept. . . the power and responsibility. . . of the Gold Ranger? Do you swear to. . . defend and protect?"

Trini nodded and said, "I do."

The current Gold Ranger lifted his staff and said, "Then take my staff. . . and may the Power. . . protect you."

Trini took hold of the Gold Power Staff. The moment her hand grasped it, gold energy began to flow from Trey to her. The Command Center seemed to flash, and moments later, it was done. There Trini stood in the Gold Ranger suit, feeling far more powerful than she ever had as the Yellow Ranger. "This is incredible," she breathed.

Now demorphed, Trey smiled. He looked to be a young man, no older than 25. He had short brown hair, royal robes, and what appeared to be a scar beneath his left eye. It was also then that the Rangers noticed the stab wound in his stomach. They gasped in horror.

"You chose well, Billy," said Trey. "Trini, you will command. . . Pyramidas. . . one of the most. . . powerful zords. . . in the universe." He then managed to reach weakly into his robes. He pulled out a map and handed it to Adam. "This map. . . will guide you. . . to the lair. . . of the Morphin Mage. I wish you luck. . . on your journey."

"Thank you for trusting me," said Trini.

The Prince of Triforia smiled one last time and nodded. "It was. . . my honor." His head sank as he took his last breath. And Trey died in the arms of the White and Red Rangers.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: For those who might be wondering, yes, this is the Gold Ranger from Zeo.


	5. Test of Gold

**Chapter 5: Test of Gold**

Tommy and Rocky laid Trey's now-lifeless body on the medical table. All of the Rangers, including Trini, and Alpha gathered around him. The new Gold Ranger took off her helmet, showing the sad expression on her face, more or less the same expression the others had. The Rangers, Alpha, and Zordon each bowed their heads and silently paid their respects to the fallen Prince of Triforia. They had only known him for a short time, and yet they still felt like they had lost one of their own.

Finally, Zordon broke the silence. "RANGERS, I KNOW THIS IS DIFFICULT, BUT YOU MUST BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY TO SEEK OUT THE MORPHIN MAGE." The Rangers turned to their mentor and nodded. Zordon then stated, "TRINI, YOU WILL STAY BEHIND AND PROTECT THE EARTH UNTIL THEY RETURN."

Trini nodded as the other Rangers got ready to seek the Mage and get their powers back. As they waited for Alpha to teleport them to their destination, Kat asked, "What about Trey?"

"BEING THAT HE IS A TRIFORIAN," explained Zordon, "HIS BODY WILL TURN TO DUST WITHIN ONE EARTH HOUR. THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALL TRIFORIANS DIE."

Alpha entered the coordinates and asked, "Are you ready, Rangers?"

Before anyone could respond, Billy said, "Wait." He then walked over to Trini and said, "Trini, before we go. . ."

Billy trailed off and stared Trini in the eyes. Then, without warning, he kissed her, surprising her and the others. He pulled apart, saying, "In case. . ."

Trini shushed him and put a finger to his lips. "No. Don't say that. I know." Both smiled faintly as Billy slowly rejoined the others.

Again, Alpha asked, "Are you ready, Rangers?" This time, all of them nodded. "Teleporting to the planet Zircon, now." With that, he pushed a few more buttons and the seven teens teleported away in their respective Ranger colors.

When they were gone, Trini said, "Good luck, guys."

Rita noticed the Rangers teleporting away from Earth via the Repulsascope. "Zedd, take a look at this!"

Sitting on his throne, Zedd shot a beam from his visor and was able to trace their trajectory. "No! They're heading for the planet Zircon! They must be looking for the Morphin Mage!"

"The Morphin Mage?" asked Goldar. "But I thought he was supposed to be a myth."

"The Temple of Ninjor was supposed to be a myth and the Rangers found it," Rito pointed out. That may have been the most intelligent thing he'd ever said in his life.

"For once you are right, Rito," said Zedd. "Ninjor's temple WAS supposed to be a myth, but it wasn't. So who's to say they can't find the Morphin Mage?"

"So why don't we send the Putties to attack them?" suggested Rita. "With these new Putties stronger than they've ever been, and the Rangers powerless, they won't stand a chance!"

"Just what I had in mind, my dear!" agreed Zedd. "But why stop there? Why don't we send the Putties AND the Tengas? They'll tear those pathetic Power Pests to pieces and then they'll never find the Morphin Mage!"

Every villain inside the palace laughed in evil delight. When they stopped, Zedd said, "Let's also let the people of Angel Grove and the world know that their heroes are gone. Send down the Putties and the Tengas to attack the city as well!" All in the palace laughed again.

Finally, Scorpina said, "I'm going too, Lord Zedd. I'd like to finish off the Gold Ranger once and for all, if he's not dead already."

"Very well, Scorpina," agreed her master. "You may not have the Sword of Kismet anymore, but you will have the chance to finish off the last Triforian." Scorpina bowed and teleported away along with the Putties and the Tengas.

The alarms in the Command Center began blaring. Turning to the Viewing Globe, Trini asked, "What's going on?"

"Ay, yi, yi, yi, yi!" screamed Alpha. "Scorpina is attacking Angel Grove along with the Tengas and the new Putties!"

"THIS IS INDEED A GRAVE SITUATION," said Zordon. "TRINI, I AM SORRY, BUT YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN."

"I know," the new Gold Ranger said simply. "But I must protect the city any way I can until the others can join me." She then turned to Alpha and said, "Wish me luck." Alpha nodded and Trini turned away. For the first time in a long time, Trini said, "Back to action!"

Trini appeared in one of the many battle zones in Angel Grove. She started battling the Putties and Tengas, staff in hand. She was majorly outnumbered, but then again, weren't the Power Rangers always outnumbered when it came to these beasts? After fighting for several minutes, it soon became obvious that the numbers were catching up to her and she was going to be overpowered soon.

Out of options, Trini looked at her staff and said, "Let's see what this thing can really do." She held up her staff and said, "It's time for a gold rush!" The symbol on the Gold Power Staff opened up and gold energy began to enter the red orb on top of it. She then pointed it at her opponents and fired gold energy spheres, destroying the Putties and sending the Tengas flying.

A voice from behind said, "Impressive trick, Trey." The Gold Ranger turned to see Scorpina standing before her, sword at the ready. "Too bad it couldn't save you last time!"

"Trey's dead, Scorpina," said the Ranger in a voice that Scorpina hadn't heard in a long time.

The scorpion-like woman had a look of surprise on her face, but it disappeared quickly. An evil smile then ran across her face. "Do my ears deceive me? Could you be Trini?" She paused before adding, "I always thought you looked better in yellow."

"Same girl, different costume," responded the re-born heroine. "Now get off my planet, before I make you get off!"

"I'd like to see you try, has-been!" Scorpina then threw her sword like a boomerang, striking Trini's chest and knocking her down. When her sword returned to her, she approached her opponent, who was clutching her chest as she struggled to get to her knees. "Count yourself lucky this isn't the Sword of Kismet. I'd much rather finish you off slowly anyway."

"Don't count on it, scorpion-freak!" yelled Trini in defiance. She then struck Scorpina's chest with the bladed end of her staff. Scorpina looked at her chest in horror as she saw that not only was her armor torn, but she had a gash as well.

"You'll pay dearly for that!" shrieked Scorpina as she sent fiery eyebeams into her armored hand and shot the energy from her palm.

Trini rolled out of the way just in time and said, "My turn." She then held up her staff as once again, gold energy went into the red orb and she fired the gold energy spheres.

The energy struck Scorpina, knocking her down. She stood up and snarled, "I'll be back." She teleported back to the moon in anger.

When she was gone, Trini said tiredly, "I'm glad that's over. Now to take care of the rest of the Putties and Tengas." She then teleported away in streak of gold-colored light to stop the rest of Rita and Zedd's minions.

TO BE CONTINUED


	6. Seeking the Mage

**Chapter 6: Seeking the Mage**

The seven teens landed on the surface of the planet Zircon. They had expected it to be a barren wasteland, but to their surprise, they were standing in the most beautiful rainforest any of them had ever seen!

Taking in the scenery, Jenny breathed, "It's beautiful! Too bad we can't stay long."

Tommy nodded and said, "I know." He then turned to Adam and asked, "Where are we, Adam?"

Looking at the map that Trey had given him, the Black Ranger said, "I believe we're in the Tranquility Rainforest. It looks like our destination is a dormant volcano."

Looking out over some of the smaller trees, Billy said, "That must be it right there." The others gathered close to him and saw what he was pointing at. "That's the only mountain in our immediate vicinity, so that's the most logical place to start looking."

"Let's hope so," said Rocky. "Because if it isn't, we may not make it back to Earth in time."

"Let's go, guys," said Tommy. "Earth is depending on us."

They trekked through the rainforest for almost an hour. Adam and Aisha walked hand-in-hand, Billy took over the map duties, and Rocky and Jenny just chatted, trying to pass the time. Meanwhile, Tommy and Kat walked side-by-side, slightly lagging behind the others. Tommy kept glancing at the tall, willowy Australian girl, thinking to himself, 'Aw man, she's gorgeous.' Kat then stopped and looked into a trickling stream. Tommy approached her and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

The pretty blonde shrugged and said, "I guess so. Tommy, I know I'm supposed to try and be strong, but I'm scared. I mean, for all we know, Trini could be dead, and Rita and Zedd could be rampaging the city even as we speak. They could even be going after our families, for Heaven's sake! I haven't felt this helpless since Master Vile made us into kids. And even then, we had some hope. But this situation isn't something that Zordon and Alpha can fix with a couple of fancy inventions."

The White Ranger nodded and responded, "I know what you mean. I know all too well what it's like to be powerless. But we'll find this Morphin Mage. One way or another, we'll get our powers back and then send Rita and Zedd back to Hell where they came from."

The Pink Ranger smiled and turned to Tommy. "You're certainly the optimist."

Tommy returned the smile. "Well, somebody has to be." He then paused before adding, "But just in case we don't make it, there's something I want to tell you."

Kat's curiosity was piqued. "What?"

Her answer was most unexpected: Tommy pulled Katherine into his arms and locked his lips with hers in a deep and passionate kiss. Kat's eyes widened with shock at first, but she soon let herself fall deep into the kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Tommy said, "Kat, I love you. Or at least I think I do. I've liked you ever since I first laid eyes on you even though I was dating Kimberly and you were under Rita's influence at the time. When Kimberly sent that letter to break up with me, I was devastated, which you know. But after talking with her and my mom, it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. When the others convinced me to ask you to the Ernie's dance, I wondered if I was just using you as a replacement for her. But I know now that I wasn't. When we were together, it just felt. . . right. I don't know if this is what one would call 'real love,' I don't know if this is the kind of love they write about in fairy tales, romance novels, and such. But I'd like to find out. Would you like to try and find out with me?"

Kat didn't know what to say. Finally, she smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Yes, Tommy. I would like to try. I. . . I think I love you too."

She then threw herself into his arms and he held her tight. For several moments, time seemed to stand still. Finally, Tommy pulled away, coming back to reality. "C'mon. Let's get back to the others."

Kat nodded as Tommy took her hand. As they caught up with their friends, Jenny and Rocky's conversation stopped. They turned to the White and Pink Rangers walking hand-in-hand, looking down at the ground, casting occasional glances. Jenny and Rocky looked at each other and smiled knowingly before going back to their previous conversation.

The Rangers were about a mile from the dormant volcano that they believed was where the Morphin Mage resided. But they stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the caw of a Tenga. The Rangers looked up and saw the Tengas touching down around them. They got into fighting stances, ready to defend themselves, when the Putties teleported in as well.

"Great," said Rocky. "As if those new Putties weren't bad enough, now we've gotta deal with the Tengas as well."

"We were so close," moaned Jenny.

Shaking off any fear he may have had, Adam said, "Let's take these beasts!"

"Spread out!" ordered Tommy. The seven powerless heroes scattered in all directions and tried to fend off their attackers.

For about ten minutes, the Rangers actually didn't do too badly against the mess of Putties and Tengas. Each Ranger got their own fair share of hits in, but they just kept coming back for more. One Tenga dived at Jenny, but she ducked and it slammed into a tree. Another one however, grabbed her by the shoulders and began to fly with her. "Put me down!" screamed the Green Ranger.

"Jenny!" cried Tommy. He could only watch as his younger sibling did everything she could to get free.

"There's too many of them!" yelled Aisha as two Putties began overpowering her.

"We need our powers!" cried Adam as three Tengas began to overpower him.

"I said let me go!" Jenny yelled. The big bird still wouldn't oblige.

The other six Rangers could do nothing to help her as they were overwhelmed by Rita and Zedd's minions. But then, a voice cried out, "Cease fighting at once!"

All fighting stopped and the Tenga that had Jenny dropped her. She landed on her feet and turned to the source of the voice, as did everyone else. There before them hovered the ghostly image of a long-haired, bearded old man in a long robe holding a staff. He then held up his staff and white light spread all over the area. Everything went black.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: If you want a better description of what the Morphin Mage looks like, think of Gandalf from "Lord of the Rings."


	7. The Power of Pyramidas

**Chapter 7: The Power of Pyramidas**

Lord Zedd and Rita watched Trini as she battled the Putties and Tengas that were spread throughout the city. Fighting wise, she hadn't lost a step in her absence.

Meanwhile, Scorpina was getting her wound treated by Finster. The small scientist said, "My goodness! That small blade on that small staff cut you quite deep! It cut through your armor as if it was nothing."

Goldar snarled as he watched. "I promise you, Scorpina, that Gold Ranger will pay!" Goldar had made up his mind: he DID love Scorpina. He was a servant of evil, but he loved her nevertheless. He was steadfastly loyal to Lord Zedd, and nothing would change that, but now, he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that evil truly could love. He would never say this out loud, but he would always love Scorpina. He would never marry, but he still loved her nevertheless. 'She will pay, Scorpina,' Goldar thought to himself. 'She will pay.' That was as close as he would ever come to expressing his love for her.

Back on the battlefield, Trini continued to battle the Putties and the Tengas, using the energy spheres from her staff only as a last resort. Still watching her, Rita whined, "Zeddy, that has-been is beating up the Putties AND the Tengas all by herself!"

"That may be so, Rita," said Zedd, "but she's also wearing herself down."

"But what about her zord?" asked Rita. "That pyramid could mean trouble for us."

"Agreed. Let's have Finster create a weak monster. Just to see what it can do. Perhaps then we'll be able to find its weakness."

"An excellent idea, Zedd," screeched Rita. She turned and cried, "Finster!"

"Yes, my queen?" asked Finster as he rushed into the throne room out of breath.

"Create a weak monster for me. I want to see what the Gold Ranger's zord can do."

This surprised Finster. Never before had he been asked to create a weak monster before. However, he understood what Rita meant as he realized that she was perhaps trying to find a weakness to the Gold Rangers zord. "As you wish, Empress Rita," he acknowledged before going back to his lab.

Trini teleported into the Command Center, out of breath. Alpha approached her and asked, "Trini, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," answered the Gold Ranger. "I just hope the others get back soon."

Zordon said, "ALPHA, PREPARE THE MEDICAL TABLE. TRINI, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO LIE DOWN. AFTER FIGHTING FOR ALMOST AN HOUR, YOU WILL NEED ALL THE REST YOU CAN GET."

Trini nodded as Alpha got the table ready. She laid down and took advantage of whatever breathing time she could get.

Trini had barely been lying down for fifteen minutes when the alarms went off again. She immediately got up and approached the Viewing Globe. "What now?" she asked.

"Ay, yi, yi!" said Alpha. "A new monster has grown in downtown Angel Grove!"

"I'll take him out," said Trini.

Concerned, Zordon asked, "TRINI, ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE UP TO THIS?"

"I have to be," said the tired Gold Ranger with determination. "I'm the only chance the city has right now."

"VERY WELL. GO NOW, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU."

Trini nodded and said, "Back to action!"

Trini arrived where the new monster, a bird-monster, flew over the city. The Gold Ranger held up the Gold Power Staff and cried, "I call upon the Power of Pyramidas!"

The pyramid-like zord emerged from its hiding place in the mountains. Trini leaped into the cockpit and said, "Pyramidas, power up!"

Pyramidas rolled towards the bird-monster. It cawed and attacked Pyramidas with its talons and beak. As the bird-monster took to the skies again, Trini declared, "It's time your feathers were plucked!" A blue beam shot from the tip on top, knocking the bird out of the sky and crashing to the ground. As it cawed and tried to get to its feet, Trini cried, "Pyramidas, fire!"

A blue energy beam shot into the sky. Lightning bolts then struck the ground, each bold moving closer and closer to the bird-monster. Just as the bird-monster realized what was going on, one of the lightning bolts struck it. It cawed one last time, fell to the ground, and exploded.

"Something tells me that was too easy," Trini said to herself before she made her way back to the Command Center.

TO BE CONTINUED


	8. Trials of the Rangers

**Chapter 8: Trials of the Rangers**

The unconscious Rangers were slowly coming around. Tommy was the first to get his bearings as he realized that he and his friends were being held by energy bonds. He silently hoped they were inside the volcano even though at the moment they appeared to be in the cave. As the others regained consciousness, they all mumbled and moaned as they too realized that they had been bound. "Oh, my aching head," said Jenny.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Tommy.

"I will be asking the questions around here," said a voice. The Rangers looked and saw the ghostly old man that they had seen earlier materialize in front of them. He walked toward the seven teens with a neutral expression on his face. "Who are you?"

Tommy spoke up for everyone. "We are. . . well, we WERE the Power Rangers of Earth. Scorpina, a servant of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, destroyed our zords and powers with the Sword of Kismet. Our mentor Zordon sent us here to seek the Morphin Mage in hopes that he could restore our powers."

"Zordon of Eltar?" asked the old man. He then took a long hard look at each Ranger and noticed how young they were, especially Jenny. "You all seem rather young to be among Zordon's chosen few. I find this hard to believe." He fired his staff at the bonds, freeing the Rangers.

"You know Zordon?" asked a surprised Kat.

"Know him?" asked the old man with a laugh. "My dear, Zordon is known all over the universe. But I refuse to allow children to be given such power. Power such as this is not to be taken lightly. Leave Zircon, before it is too late."

"It may already be too late," said Jenny.

"And who are you?" asked Rocky.

"Why, the Morphin Mage, of course." This got a gasp from the Rangers. "But do you really think you seven could possibly be worthy of eternal Ranger Power?"

"Eternal Ranger Power?" asked a surprised Adam. He asked the others, "Didn't Ninjor say he got a glimpse of the future when he died?"

"Ninjor?" asked the Mage.

"Yes, he did," said Billy. "He said we would receive eternal power."

"How could this be?" asked the Mage in surprise. "Only one has ever proven worthy of the power. Everyone else has failed."

"Would that one have been an ancestor to Trey of Triforia?" asked Aisha.

"Triforia?" asked the Mage, surprised again.

"Yes," said Tommy. "The Triforian race is extinct now. Trey saved us from Scorpina and passed on his powers to one of our friends before he died. He was the one who gave us the map, showing us where to find you."

Finally, the Mage gave in. "Very well. If so many believe you to be worthy, you must receive your powers as soon as possible. If we do not hurry, your planet is doomed. Follow me."

All walked towards a passageway. The next room they entered, they saw that there was no ceiling above. The sun was shining through. Apparently, they WERE in the volcano. The Mage turned towards the Rangers and tapped his staff on the ground. The Rangers were momentarily startled as they began to descend downward. Once they touched ground, the Mage stepped off the platform and began walking through an underground passageway, the Rangers close behind. They finally came to a large, square room. All around were statues of other elderly men and women. There was a circle in the center of the room.

The Morphin Mage stepped into the center of the circle. "Gather around me." Each of the Rangers did as they were told. Once they were in position, the Mage raised his staff. Lightning-like energy bolts came from the staff, a bolt landing at the feet of each Ranger. Once they struck, the Mage and the seven Rangers began to rise up on pillars.

When they finally stopped, the Morphin Mage said, "Each of you has served your planet as Power Rangers. Circumstances have forced you to seek me out, to seek eternal power. As with all others in the past, you must prove yourself worthy of the power. Each of you will undergo a trial, a trial that will determine if you are indeed worthy of being called the Power Rangers. Now, close your eyes and concentrate." The seven teens each did what they were told. The Mage closed his eyes as well, as white light came from his staff, enveloping everyone in blackness.

Billy opened his eyes and realized that he was at the Youth Center. That was strange, but what was stranger was that the place was completely empty. He saw that he was on the sparring mats. But before he could figure out what was going on, a voice said, "Move it, dweeb!"

Billy turned to the source of the voice and realized that it had come from Tommy! Jenny was alongside him, both with hateful expressions on their faces. Billy just stared at them in confusion. Finally, Jenny waved her hand and said, "Hello? Did you hear my brother? He said move it!"

"You never should have been a Ranger," said a voice from behind. Billy turned and realized that it had come from Rocky. Adam and Aisha were close by, all three of them looking just as mad as the Oliver siblings. "You never could cut it," said Rocky. "And you still can't!"

Aisha said, "At least when Jenny joined the team, she knew how to fight. You? You couldn't even defend yourself!"

"The only reason Zordon picked you was because of your brains," added Adam.

"He also picked you because you were the only one available," said an accented voice. Billy already knew that it belonged to Kat. He turned to her as she said, "Exactly what he saw in you at that time, I'll never know."

"I don't even know why I stood by you all that time," said another voice. Billy turned and his jaw dropped. Even Trini was in on this! Billy felt like crying, but he was determined not to let it happen. The Asian girl said, "There were so many battles we could have won without you. And so many monsters we could have finished off more quickly if we hadn't had to worry about your sorry butt."

Billy hung his head. He couldn't believe he was hearing this from all of his friends, especially Trini, the one who had stood by him through thick and thin. The girl that he thought would be his girlfriend. But he knew that every word they had said was true. He HAD been a hindrance in the beginning. But his mind had made up for so much of what he lacked physically. It also. . . wait a minute. It was then that it occurred to him. He looked up and smiled. He slowly started chuckling. The others looked at him with confused expressions on their faces. Jenny asked, "Why are you smiling?"

"And why are you laughing?" asked Aisha.

Still chuckling, Billy answered, "You're right. In the beginning, I couldn't fight. Not unless I was morphed. But you all helped me improve my martial arts skills, remember? And you're right, there were a lot of battles that you could have won without me. But there were also a lot of battles that you could have LOST without me. If it weren't for my scientific genius, Rita and Zedd would have run this planet into the ground a long time ago. So, I guess you should thank me for being as smart as I am." Billy smiled one more time as the others looked at each other dumbfounded. Then the scene disappeared, surprising Billy.

The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by a blue light. The Morphin Mage appeared before him and smiled. He said, "Congratulations, William. You have conquered your greatest fear: Being rejected and unappreciated by your friends. Now, take that which is yours." He then disappeared.

In a flash, Billy's helmet appeared on his head. Then, his Blue Ranger suit began to materialize from his head down to his toes. It was identical to the uniform he was so accustomed to wearing, but he felt power like he had never felt before! He looked at his gloved hands in amazement and then heard the sound of a beast. What he saw came as a shock to him: It was his old Triceratops Dinozord! He then heard the Morphin Mage say, "The power of the Triceratops is yours once again, Blue Ranger. May it guide you well in your battle against evil." Billy smiled underneath his helmet as the Triceratops let out its battle cry once again. And then, everything went black.

Jenny was standing in the Youth Center on the sparring mats, wearing the karate gear that she wore in Tommy's class. She wondered why she was wearing it. She then heard a voice say, "Hey, get out of here!"

Jenny turned and gasped as she saw the person who had just spoken to her. "Tommy?" she asked confused. He was surrounded by the other kids in his class. "What's going on here?"

"I kicked you out of my class, remember?" said her older brother. "You're not good enough. You never were, and you never will be!"

Not many people knew this, but Jenny had a major inferiority complex when she was younger. Growing up, she wanted to be like Tommy, but didn't feel she was good enough. Neither Tommy nor their parents had said it to her face, but she'd always feared that they would. That was one of the reasons her parents encouraged her to take martial arts classes: To get over this feeling of insignificance. Tommy continued to taunt her. "You started taking martial arts because you wanted to be like me. But guess what, little girl? You're not! You'll never be as good as me! You'll never amount to anything!"

Tommy continued to taunt her as Jenny fell to her knees and began to cry. "No," she said to herself. Everything else Tommy was saying fell on deaf ears as all the fears that she thought she'd conquered were coming back in full force.

"Are you listening to me?" asked Tommy hatefully as he forced Jenny to look him in the eye. "You're. Not. Good. Enough."

Tears still rolling down her face, Jenny's broken voice said, "Yes. I am." Her voice got stronger as she screamed, "I AM GOOD ENOUGH!" She then kicked Tommy down, surprising the other students. "I AM GOOD ENOUGH! I AM GOOD ENOUGH!" She kept beating Tommy up, screaming the same thing over and over again. Jenny finally stopped when she realized that Tommy's blood was getting all over her fists. "No. NO!" She pulled Tommy into a hug, crying still with her eyes closed. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I just wanted to prove myself to you. Please be alright. Please." Jenny was startled when Tommy as well as everyone and everything else vanished, causing her to open her eyes and stand up.

Suddenly, Jenny was engulfed in a green light. The Morphin Mage appeared and said, "Congratulations, Jennifer. You have faced your fear of inferiority and come out victorious. You have indeed shown bravery, strength, and wisdom beyond your years." The Mage smiled and disappeared.

Jenny's helmet appeared on her head in a flash. As with Billy, her Green Ranger uniform began to materialize, giving her power stronger than the Ninja power! She looked at herself and smiled beneath her helmet. A roar then pulled her out of her reverie. She couldn't believe what she was seeing! "Dragonzord!" she exclaimed. "I thought I'd lost you, old buddy!"

Jenny then heard the Mage say, "May the strength of the Dragonzord serve you well, Green Ranger." The Dragonzord roared again before blackness fell.

Aisha opened her eyes. She looked around and realized that she was in the same cave that she, Adam, and Rocky had been in when they were captured by Lord Zedd after moving to Angel Grove. She saw that nobody was there but her. Or so she thought.

"Hello, Aisha," said a voice. Adam's voice. She turned and saw her two best friends standing in front of her. But this was definitely not the same Adam Park and Rocky DeSantos that she knew. She noticed their eyes, pupils and all were very dark. Adam gave an evil smirk and asked, "So, what do you think?"

Aisha was at a loss for words. Finally, she managed to ask, "Wh. . . what happened to you guys?" She silently hoped that this wasn't what would have happened if they had been bitten by Zedd's Serpent of Darkness.

"We're Lord Zedd's henchmen now, stupid," said Rocky. "You were supposed to be one too, but for some reason, that snake slithered off of you and bit us instead."

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Aisha in disbelief. "That snake was destroyed!"

"Guess again," said Adam as he pulled the snake out from behind him. He and Rocky slowly trekked towards her. "Come now, be one of us. You wouldn't hurt your two best friends now, would you?"

"No," answered Aisha. "I don't want to fight you. But I will if you force my hand."

"Oh, come on, Aisha," taunted Rocky. "You know you can't beat us. Why don't you just join us and get it over with?"

As Adam inched closer with the snake, Aisha suddenly kicked it out of Adam's hands and away from her. "I said no."

"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that," snarled Adam. He charged, but Aisha kicked him away. She then roundhouse-kicked Rocky and ran towards the exit. She stopped to see them coming towards her. Aisha then punched Rocky in the face and kicked Adam down. When they got up, she knocked them both out by kicking them simultaneously.

With both of them unconscious, Aisha got to her knees and said to them regretfully, "Sorry, guys, but you gave me no choice. I'll find a way to bring both of you back, I promise." She closed her eyes and let a tear fall as the scene disappeared, snapping her back to reality and causing her to stand up.

Aisha was then surrounded by a yellow light. She saw the Morphin Mage appear, a smile on his face. He said, "Well done, Aisha. Conquering your greatest fear, losing your two best friends to the cause of evil, has proven your worth." He disappeared.

A flash later, Aisha's helmet appeared on her head. She watched with wide eyes as her Yellow Ranger uniform slowly materialized onto her body, the same process that Billy and Jenny had already gone through. She could feel power stronger than she had ever known. She was looking at herself in awe, when a roar got her attention. She looked up and gasped as a huge yellow machine stood before her. She then heard the mage say, "The power of the Saber-Toothed Tiger is yours, Yellow Ranger." Aisha smiled underneath her helmet as the zord roared again. She didn't notice blackness falling around her.

Rocky woke up and rubbed his eyes. Once he got his bearings, he realized he was in an empty Youth Center, sitting at the Rangers' usual table. He was confused, but he really didn't know what to do. So he just sat there and waited.

"Hey, Rocky," said a female voice. He turned and saw that the voice had come from Aisha, as she made her way to the table, the others close behind, except Trini. They didn't look to be in a good mood.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" he asked confused, not knowing why his friends were looking at him the way they were.

Kat said, "We need to speak to you about your eating problem."

"What eating problem?"

"Look at what you've got on the table," said Adam.

Rocky was confused, but looked anyway. He looked shocked as he realized that the table was covered with all of his favorite foods. That hadn't been there a minute ago! "Did I really order all of that?" he asked in surprise.

Jenny rolled her eyes and asked, "Rocky, how can you be such a pig? Pretty soon, you won't be able to walk, much less fight a Tenga."

"Jen's right, Rocky," agreed Tommy. "Pretty soon, you won't even look like a Ranger with all that weight you're going to put on."

Billy agreed as well. "Affirmative," he said with a nod.

"I did NOT order all of this!" said Rocky defiantly as he got in their faces. He took a deep breath and admitted, "Okay, so I do eat a lot. But that's part of who I am. And I'm NOT going to change that!"

"Suit yourself, Rocky," said Tommy. He then grabbed Rocky's wrist without warning, and they all teleported to the Command Center.

When they got there, Rocky noticed that Zordon was not in his plasma tube. Alpha wasn't there either. "If you're not going to change the way you eat, then it's time we got a new Red Ranger," said Tommy. He turned to an unlit part of the Command Center and said, "You can come out now!"

A figure emerged from the shadows and slowly walked towards the Rangers. Rocky's jaw dropped as he realized who it was. "Jason?"

"That's right," said the original Red Ranger. "I'm taking back what is rightfully mine. I mean, I didn't regret going to the Peace Conference, but what was I thinking when I gave you my power? As soon as Tommy informed me of the situation, I took the first flight home."

"You can't do this to me!" protested Rocky.

"Too late," said Adam.

"Remember, you brought this all upon yourself," said Aisha.

"She's right, Rocky," agreed Kat. "If you had at least TRIED to change your eating habits, none of this would be happening."

Rocky hung his head and said, "I told you, there's more to me than just eating. You're just too blind to see that." He raised his head up and looked around in surprise as the scene vanished.

The next thing Rocky knew, he was engulfed in a red light. The Morphin Mage appeared and said, "Rockwell, you have done it. You have conquered your greatest fear: Rejection and disownment from your friends." He smiled and disappeared.

Once the Mage was gone, Rocky's helmet appeared in a flash, and his Red Ranger outfit materialized onto his body, ala his other three teammates. Rocky looked at himself and smiled as he felt power flow through him that he had never felt before. He looked up when he heard a roar. He looked up in amazement and astonishment as a mechanical tyrannosaurus -rex stood before him. The Mage's voice said, "May the power of the Tyrannosaurus protect you, Red Ranger." The t-rex roared again and then blackness fell.

Adam opened his eyes and found that he was in Angel Grove Park. He turned and saw the other Rangers, minus Trini, playing football. He wondered where she was, but shrugged it off for the moment and walked towards them. "Hey, guys," he said waving to them. This caused them to stop playing.

The others looked at him as if they didn't know him. "Are you Adam Park?" asked Tommy.

"Of course I am," answered Adam, not liking the direction this was going. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm surprised you didn't blush," said Jenny. "Normally, you can't say two words without turning ten shades of red!" Adam looked embarrassed as the others laughed.

Barely able to speak through his laughter, Billy said, "Look at him! He's redder than the surface of Mars!" They laughed harder.

When they quieted down somewhat, Adam said, "I thought we were friends." They laughed again, harder than ever.

"Us? Friends with you?" asked Rocky, trying to control himself. "Give us a break!"

Aisha then asked, "Why would we even THINK about being friends with you?" This hurt Adam coming from the girl he had just started dating. But he tried not to show his pain. Aisha then said, "If you weren't so quiet and shy, maybe we would be."

"Aisha's right," agreed Kat. "Shy people suck! I'd rather listen to Billy's techno-babble than your stuttering!"

Adam felt tears welling up, but he held them back. He finally gathered his courage and said, "If this is how you're going to treat me, then I don't want to be friend with you!" He then turned and stormed off. He was determined not to cry. He'd show them. He'd show them all! He then looked around in astonishment as the scene vanished before his very eyes.

When the scene was gone, Adam was enveloped in a black light. He saw a smiling Morphin Mage appear. "Adam, you have done well. You have conquered your greatest fear of abandonment. And now you are rewarded for it." He smiled again and disappeared.

In a flash, Adam's helmet appeared on his head and he watched as he was clothed in his Black Ranger suit. As power stronger than he had ever felt flowed through his body, his amazement was interrupted by an elephant-like sound. He looked up amazed at what he believed to be his new zord. "Incredible," he whispered to himself.

The disembodied voice of the Morphin Mage then said, "The Mastodon will serve you well, Black Ranger." Adam looked at the zord in astonishment as it gave another cry before blackness succumbed.

Kat opened her eyes and realized that she was in the hallway of the hospital. She didn't understand what she was doing here, but she noticed an open door. She couldn't help but notice that her friends were in the room. Adam and Rocky held Aisha close as she cried, and Billy stood at the foot of the bed, he head hanging down. The four of them were blocking Kat's view so that she couldn't see Tommy. She also wondered where Jenny and Trini were, but decided that now was not a good time to ask. She slowly approached her friends and quietly asked, "What happened here?"

Rocky then glanced over at her with a hateful glare. This surprised her, but not nearly as much as what he said next:

"Why don't YOU tell US what happened. . . MURDERER."

Kat gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Did he really just say what she thought he said? She stuttered, "Wh. . . wh. . . what do you mean?"

Billy then turned to her and said, "Don't give us that! Look!"

He moved out of the way and Kat saw that Tommy was cradling a lifeless body. Kat nearly had heart failure when she realized that it was Kimberly! With his tears dried up, Tommy asked, grief evident in his voice, "How could you, Katherine?" He then asked more angrily, "HOW COULD YOU?"

"How could you have done this to her?" asked Aisha through her tears. "How could you have done this to US? We trusted you!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kat fearfully.

"As if you don't know," said Adam coldly. Normally, he was the last one to get angry, but his anger was justified here. "Alpha and Zordon saw the whole thing on the Viewing Globe. They were checking up on Kimberly and they saw her fall off the balance beam. They saw you standing there laughing. YOU LAUGHED THE WHOLE TIME!"

"It all makes perfect sense now," said Tommy as he and the others approached her. "You stole Kim's Power Coin, didn't you? You stole the Falconzord, didn't you? You let Rita take control of you!"

"I. . . I'm sorry," said Kat as she sank to her knees and hung her head in shame. Tears began to roll down her face.

"A lot of good that's gonna do us, now," said Billy.

"A lot of good that's gonna do Kimberly," added Rocky.

"I know," said Kat as she looked up at them through bloodshot eyes. "But that's all I can say." The tears continued to fall when suddenly, to her surprise, the scene vanished.

Kat slowly stood up and quickly found herself in pink light. The Morphin Mage appeared, smiling. "I congratulate you, Katherine. By conquering your greatest fear of succumbing to Rita Repulsa's influence, you have earned what is rightfully yours." As with the others, he disappeared.

Another flash, and Kat's helmet appeared on her head. He Pink Ranger outfit also began materializing onto her body. She smiled as the power flowed through her, stronger than before. A cry got her attention and she looked up to see a pink winged machine hovering above. The Mage's voice said, "The power of the Pterodactyl is yours, Pink Ranger. May it protect you in your struggle against evil." Kat beamed with pride as the Pterodactyl cried again before the world went black.

Tommy opened his eyes and looked around. He realized with horror that he was in the Command Center! It was in complete ruins! He looked up and saw Zordon's shattered plasma tube. He knew that his mentor had either somehow escaped or was dead. He stepped away backwards in fear and tripped. He realized that he had tripped over Alpha. Or rather, what was left of him. His robotic friend was in pieces all over the place. "Please be a dream," he said to himself. He closed his eyes in the hopes that he was asleep.

When Tommy opened his eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was now in Angel Grove Park. However, his relief was short-lived when he looked around and saw dead bodies. And not just the bodies of anyone. These were the bodies of the Rangers, or anyone who had ever been a Power Ranger! They were all morphed and helmetless. He approached each one, silently praying for one of them to be alive.

He came upon Trini first. He felt pity for her, for she had been one of the most honorable people she had ever met. He was confused when he saw that she was in her old Yellow Ranger suit instead of her current Gold Ranger uniform, but that didn't matter right now. It didn't take long to find out what had killed her: Her head had been cut off. The expression on her face seemed to be that of pleading, which was something you didn't often see from her. He then approached the next of his fallen friends.

He came upon Zack and immediately saw what had done him in: His Power Axe had been gouged through his chest. His facial expression was one of shock and betrayal.

He then came upon the first Red Ranger: Jason. It wasn't clearly visible as to what had killed him. He approached his best friend and was surprised that his face wasn't as agonizing as the first two. Instead, Jason's eyes reflected the determination he'd had in life. He picked up Jason's body and held it in a hug. That was how close they were. He whispered, "Sorry, bro. I don't know what happened." He put him down and saw that he had dried blood on his hands. He then turned Jason over and saw that the back of his skull had been crushed in. He shivered with fear as he went to check on the next body.

He came up to Aisha and what he saw almost made him puke: He arms, legs, and head had been literally ripped from her body! It was no surprise to him to see her look of pain. He wondered who could have done that to his kind and cheerful friend. He decided he didn't want to find out.

He then came up to Billy and saw almost immediately how he had been killed: His head had been ripped off. That was easy to see, being that when Trini's head had been cut off, the mark of the weapon that had been used was visible. As with Aisha, his face reflected pain.

Next, he approached someone in green, lying face-down. He said to himself, "Oh no. Please don't let it be her." He turned the body over and his hopes were completely shattered. It was indeed Jenny, his sister. He saw a large stab wound in her mid-section, larger than Trey's. He examined it further and realized that, unlike Trey, Jenny had been completely impaled! Someone had stabbed her in the stomach, and the weapon had gone all the way out through her back! The look on her face showed pleading and sadness. Tommy held his sister's lifeless body in a hug, shedding a tear as he did so. He slowly laid her back down to rest.

He saw Adam and Rocky lying near a tree. It was immediately visible that they had both been cut in half, causing Tommy to shiver. Their expressions of shock were almost too much to bear. He then noticed the handle of a sword or knife lying nearby, covered in leaves. He picked it up and examined it. Tommy went white as he realized what it was: The Sword of Darkness! The same Sword of Darkness that had bound him to Rita's spell as the evil Green Ranger! "It can't be!" yelled Tommy in fear and disbelief. "This thing was destroyed! Who did this?"

"You," said an accented voice. Tommy slowly turned to see two of the most important people in his life: Kimberly and Kat. He noticed that they were both covered in blood, wearing their Pink Ranger uniforms, and glaring at him hatefully.

Seeing their expressions, Tommy slowly asked, "Wh. . .what happened here?"

Storming up to his face, Kimberly answered, "What Kat said: You! You did all of this!" She then punched him, knocking him down and surprising him. "You killed all of our friends! You even killed your own sister! Why spare us?"

"But. . . if you're not dead. . . why are you covered in blood?" asked Tommy shakily.

"Don't give us that!" scolded Kat. "You know perfectly well why. We showed you the dead bodies of all of our friends, and you laughed the whole time!"

"We thought you loved us," said Kimberly, on the brink of tears. "You let your dark side take control again! How could you?" She then let the tears fall. Kat held her to support her as a few tears fell down her face as well.

Tommy had went white when Kim mentioned his dark side. He stood up and said defensively, "But I learned to control my dark side a long time ago. You helped me to get my life back together, Kimberly. And I DO love you. Both of you."

"Just get out of our lives!" screamed Kat. "We never want to see you again! The Tommy Oliver that we loved is dead and you killed him!" Both of them walked away crying and angry.

As the tears began to well up in his own eyes, Tommy said, "If that is what you think of me, then you are NOT the ones that I fell in love with." He then closed his eyes and let a tear roll down his cheek. When he looked up, to his surprise, the scene vanished.

Finally, Tommy was engulfed by a white light. He saw the Morphin Mage appear, who said, "Zordon was right in choosing you to be the leader of the Power Rangers, Thomas. By conquering your greatest fear, not being able to control your dark side and rejection from the two women you love the most, you have proven that you are indeed a worthy and strong leader." He smiled and disappeard.

One last flash, and Tommy's helmet appeared on his head. Then his White Ranger costume materialized onto his body. He beamed with pride as he felt power than anything he had felt in the past flow through him. He heard a roar and looked up. What he saw made him want to cry as his old White Tigerzord stood before him. "Awe man," said Tommy in amazement. "This is awesome."

He heard the Mage say, "You once more control the power of the White Tigerzord, White Ranger." Tommy smiled underneath his helmet as the Tigerzord roared again. And then, blackness fell one last time.

The Rangers all opened their eyes and saw themselves fully morphed, feeling stronger than before.

"We did it!" exclaimed Aisha.

"Morphinomenal!" concurred Billy.

"This is so cool!" said Jenny.

"We're back!" declared Rocky.

"This is amazing," breathed Kat.

"I second you on that!" agreed Adam.

"We got the Power!" said Tommy.

"Congratulations, Rangers," said the Morphin Mage with a smile. "I take it that you are pleased with your new powers and zords?"

"But, Mage," said Billy, "those zords look like our old Dinozords."

"Indeed they do," said the Mage with a nod. "But you will find that these are stronger, sleeker, and more advanced than any zords you have ever piloted or will pilot again. And unlike your Ninja Powers, which were bonded to you Power Coins of old as well as your natural human energy, these powers are bonded to your very souls. You no longer need to call upon Morphers to transform, although you can if you wish, for 'old-time's sake,' as I believe you call it on your planet. These Ranger Powers are eternal. You are among the very few who have been deemed worthy of them. These powers can never be taken from you, no matter what. The only possible way to lose these powers is to pass them on to a successor, or in death. Now, you must return to Earth. I believe your Gold friend could use your help."

"You got it, Mage," said Tommy, giving him the thumbs-up. "Thank you for trusting us with this. We won't let you down. Let's do it, guys!"

"Right!" called the other Rangers in unison. They then touched the Morphers on their belts and teleported away in their respective Ranger colors, ready to save the world once more.

"Good luck, Power Rangers," said the Morphin Mage. He watched them leave before disappearing.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: The trials of Tommy, Adam, and Rocky were more or less taken from a story by Emily, and tweaked to fit this story. Emily has an account here, and has also posted some of her stories on Paladar. I hope you don't mind, Emily!


	9. The New Old Zords

**Chapter 9: The New Old Zords**

At the Lunar Palace, Zedd and Rita were discussing what they could do to get Trini and Pyramidas out of the way. "How about we recreate some of our strongest monsters," suggested Rita. "Surely six of them should be able to take down one lousy pyramid."

Zedd pondered for a moment. He nodded and said, "Yes, Rita. Let's do that. Have Finster remold Horri-Bull, Ra-zor, and Inferna. I'll search through Angel Grove to find something to use to reactivate Tigra, Serpentor, and Nimrod, the Scarlet Sentinel." Zedd got up from his throne to begin his search while Rita went to call her scientist. The evil monarch soon found what he would need. "Excellent. Now, live again, my minions!" He laughed as he sent energy from his staff and recreated three of the Power Rangers toughest opponents. But no sooner had he done so did he see seven streaks of colored light heading for Earth. He didn't need his visor to know who it was.

"No!" screamed Zedd as he glowed red and slammed his fist on the balcony. "The Rangers must have succeeded in finding the Morphin Mage!"

Rita overheard this. "What?" she screeched as she approached the Repulsascope. She peered through as the Rangers entered Earth's atmosphere. "We've gotta stop them, Zeddy!" she said in a panic as she turned to her husband. "They'll ruin everything!"

"We'll stop them, my dear," said Zedd. "Once Finster's monsters join my own, we supersize them!" he growled as his staff gleamed red.

At the Command Center, Trini was lying on the medical table. Alpha and Zordon kept watch over the city, ready to alert her if any more trouble sprang up. Trini immediately got to her feet when she saw her seven friends teleport in.

"Rangers!" exclaimed Alpha. "You got the power! You made it back!"

"And not a moment too soon," said Trini as the others removed their helmets.

Billy quickly approached Trini when he saw her fatigue. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," reassured the Gold Ranger. "I just need rest."

No sooner had she said that did the alarm start blaring. "No rest for the weary," said Adam as the Rangers instinctively approached the Viewing Globe.

"What's going on?" asked Tommy almost immediately.

"RANGERS," said Zordon, "IT APPEARS THAT RITA AND ZEDD HAVE RECREATED SIX OF THEIR BEST MONSTERS TO ATTACK THE CITY. YOU MUST INTERCEPT THEM BEFORE TOO MUCH DAMAGE IS DONE TO ANGEL GROVE."

Tommy nodded and said, "We're on it. Back to action!"

Once all of the Rangers arrived at the scene of the attack, Rocky, Billy, Adam, Kat, and Aisha called, "We need Dinozord Power now!"

As in the past, the Tyrannosaurus burst from a volcanic pit in the ground. The Mastondon emerged from a patch of ice and slowly lumbered its way towards the battlefield. The Pterodactyl burst from an active volcano and flew towards the scene of battle. The Triceratops approached from the desert, scattering sand in its wake. And finally, the Saber-Toothed Tiger ran through a jungle and leaped out, ready to fight. As the zords approached together, each Ranger leapt into their individual cockpits.

"Mastodon, power up!"

"Pterodactyl, power up!"

"Triceratops, power up!"

"Saber-Toothed Tiger, power up!"

"Tyrannosaurus, power up!"

"Alright, guys, let's bring them together!" ordered Rocky. And just like the original Dinozords, the new ones formed into a tank.

Jenny stood nearby and pulled out her Dragon Dagger. "Time for Dragonzord Power!" She played a tune on her dagger's flute, summoning her new Dragonzord. It emerged from the sea as it originally did. It roared and went to join its comrade.

Trini held up her staff and cried, "I call upon the Power of Pyramidas!" When Pyramidas emerged from the mountains, it rolled towards the battlefield. Trini leapt into her cockpit and said, "Pyramidas, power up!"

Tommy, Saba in his right hand, held up his left hand in the air and called, "Tigerzord, power up!" The new White Tigerzord emerged from the mountains and ran towards the battlefield. Tommy leaped onto the zord's head and hung on for the ride.

Nimrod saw the White Tigerzord and would have smiled if she were capable of it, albeit an evil smile. She said, "So, White Ranger, we meet again!" She fired powerful energy, but the Tigerzord pressed on, unaffected.

"Whoa!" said Tommy as a stray blast narrowly missed taking his head off. "I know when to get out of the frying pan!" With that, he made his way into the cockpit of his new zord. "Tigerzord, convert to Warrior Mode!" At that command, he placed Saba into a console, initiating the transformation from tiger to humanoid. Once it was done, the Tigerzord Warrior used its sword to clash with Nimrod's staff. After a few clangs, the Tigerzord finally struck down the Scarlet Sentinel. When she fell, Tommy said, "Feels like old times, eh Saba?"

"Yes, indeed!" agreed the talking sword enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Horri-Bull and Tigra double-teamed Pyramidas. Though they did manage to rock its world, it was obvious that this was indeed one of the strongest zords they had ever seen. Pyramidas shot blue beams from its tip, knocking both monsters down.

Serpentor spit venom at the Dragonzord as it strode towards him. The venom scored a direct hit, but it only seemed to enrage the Dragonzord. It roared and swung its tail at him, knocking him down. Ra-zor slashed the Dragonzord from behind with his sword-arms, but again, it only seemed to provoke Jenny's zord. The Dragonzord turned and landed a hard left then a right. Another left finally took him down, and the Dragonzord roared again.

Inferna saw the Megazord's Tank Mode rolling towards her. "Ah, Rangers," said the Master of Flame. "I've been waiting for another chance to melt you down!" She cut loose with every fire attack she knew, but the Megazord Tank weathered the storm.

"You're not pushing us around this time, Inferna!" declared Rocky.

He and his four companions then cried, "Megazord Tank Mode, fire!" As they commanded, the tank fired all of its weapons, knocking Inferna to the ground.

The Red Ranger then called over the communications system, "Hey, Tommy, what's say we finish this?"

"I'm with you, Rocko," agreed the White Ranger. Calling out to Jenny and Trini, he asked, "What about you guys?"

"Ready when you are, big bro!" called the Green Ranger into her communicator.

"Let's do it!" agreed the Gold Ranger.

"Alright, guys," ordered Tommy. "Let's finish them off!"

"Megazord, Battle Mode!" declared the five Rangers inside the Megazord Tank cockpit.

"Megazord sequence has been initiated," said a robotic voice as the transformation began. The tank transformed into its warrior mode. As in the past, the Triceratops and the Saber-Toothed Tiger formed the legs. The Mastodon split to form the arms. The Tyrannosaurus formed the body. Its head tucked into its chest. The Pterodactyl flew towards it, forming a chest plate and attaching. When the t-rex head had tucked into the chest, another head was revealed. The sides of this head folded forward, completing the sequence. "Megazord activated," said the robotic voice.

As the other three zords joined them, ready to perform their duty, the Rangers in the Megazord cockpit cried, "Power Sword!" The Megazord's sword fell from the sky, the Megazord catching it. The Rangers commanded, "Power Sword, power up!" The sword was then charged with energy and, with two swipes, sliced through Inferna and Ra-zor. Both monsters fell to the ground and exploded.

"Pyramidas, fire!" ordered Trini from her cockpit. A blue beam flew into the sky. Lightning bolts then struck the ground, each one moving closer and closer to its target. The last bolt struck Nimrod, destroying her.

"Dragonzord Missles!" declared Jenny from outside. She played a tune on her flute, activating the missles. All of them fired, destroying both Serpentor and Tigra.

"Now, it's my turn," said Tommy as he took a sphere from the console behind him. He placed it into a chute in front of him and commanded, "White Tiger Thunderbold, fire!" The tiger mouth on the chest of the Tigerzord Warrior charged up and fired. The blast tore into Horri-Bull. He slowly fell down and exploded.

The four zords turned away and stood triumphantly. The day had been won.

Or had it?

TO BE CONTINUED


	10. The Third Gift

**Chapter 10: The Third Gift**

"I don't BELIEVE this!" screamed Lord Zedd as he slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne. "Every time it looks like we'll finally defeat those accursed Rangers, what happens? They slip right through our fingers!" Rita moaned the whole time.

Zedd then pointed to Scorpina and said, "Scorpina, I blame YOU for today's failure! I should blow you to BITS right now! The Rangers now have powers that I can never take away from them! And they have more powerful zords!"

"If you do, you will regret it," said the scorpion woman in her own defense. "I anticipated failure on this day. This is where your third gift comes in." Scorpina reached into a pocket in her armor and pulled out an orange crystal. She said, "This is a rare omnidyte crystal. It can be used to power any type of machinery. Namely, a certain Demon of Destruction with a few. . . how should I put it. . . power issues." She gave Zedd an evil grin.

Zedd immediately knew what she was talking about. "Serpenterra? You mean you've found a suitable power source for Serpenterra?" Scorpina nodded. Zedd then asked, "Why didn't you tell me of this before?"

The proud villainess answered, "Because I wanted to see if we could defeat the Rangers today. And if we failed, I thought you would savor the opportunity to destroy them yourself." She knelt down to one knee and Zedd's throne and offered the crystal.

The evil emperor took the crystal and chuckled lightly to himself. He looked at the omnidyte crystal for several seconds before speaking again. "Leave us. All of you. Finster, you stay. I wish to speak with you."

Scorpina stood up and bowed, as did Goldar and Rito. Finster watched as they exited the throne room, wondering what Lord Zedd wanted with him.

"Finster?"

"Yes, my emperor?"

Zedd handed him the crystal and said, "I want you to increase security around Serpenterra. I don't want Zordon figuring out what I'm up to. And then I want you to install this crystal into Serpenterra. Understand?"

Finster bowed and answered, "As you wish, Lord Zedd." He then turned away and headed back to his lab.

When he was gone, Zedd motioned for Rita to sit on his lap, which she did. When she was settled, she asked, "So, Zeddykins, do we send Serpenterra once it's energized?"

"No," answered her husband. "Not yet. Let's wait a few weeks for the Rangers to get off their guard. We'll bombard them with the Putties and Tengas. Maybe throw in an occasional monster. And then, when they least expect it. . ." he trailed off and chuckled as his staff glowed red, ". . .we take Serpenterra and put an end to those Power Brats once and for all!"

Ooo, how brilliant, Zeddy!" screeched Rita. Both villains laughed at the brilliance of what would perhaps be their greatest scheme.

When the laughter died down, Zedd shot a bolt from his staff, a glass appearing in the hands of both himself and Rita. "A toast," he proposed as the glasses clinked.

"To the end of the Power Rangers!" finished Rita. They laughed again before taking a drink.

TO BE CONTINUED


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Back at the Command Center, the Rangers were gathered, holding their helmets. Zordon said, "RANGERS, THIS IS A MOST MOMENTOUS OCCASION. THOUGH WE LOST A FRIEND THIS DAY, AN OLD ONE HAS RETURNED TO US." Trini smiled at this, knowing that Zordon was referring to her. "AND NOW, YOU HAVE ACHIEVED ETERNAL POWER AND SAVED THE WORLD ONCE MORE FROM RITA AND LORD ZEDD'S DIABOLICAL EVIL. THROUGH THICK AND THIN, THE POWER RANGERS ENDURE. I AM VERY PROUD OF ALL OF YOU."

"Thank you, Zordon," said Adam with a smile.

"It's great to have you back, Trini," said Billy as he squeezed the Asian girl's hand.

"It's great to BE back," agreed the new Gold Ranger. She then went solemn and said, "I just wish Trey were still here with us."

"INDEED," said Zordon with a nod. "IT IS TRULY TRAGIC HOW HE MET HIS END. BUT REST ASSURED, TRINI, HIS DEATH WAS NOT IN VAIN. HE WENT DOWN PROTECTING ALL THAT IS GOOD AND TRUE, LIKE A TRUE POWER RANGER. AND I AM CERTAIN THAT HE HAS LEFT HIS LEGACY IN GOOD HANDS."

"Man, this is like a whole new beginning," said Jenny with a smile.

"Yeah," agreed Rocky. "We have better powers, better zords."

"Not to mention we got two new couples hooking up," added Aisha with a smile. This caused Tommy, Kat, Billy, and Trini to all blush. Adam, Rocky, Aisha, Jenny, and even Alpha all laughed at this.

"IT IS INDEED A NEW BEGINNING," said Zordon. "MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU, NOW AND FOREVER."

Trini held out her hand and asked Tommy, "Shall we?"

Tommy nodded and placed his hand on top of hers. Kat joined in, followed by Billy, Jenny, Aisha, Adam, and Rocky.

Gold, White, Pink, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, and Red cried out as one:

"POWER RANGERS!"

THE END?


End file.
